This invention relates in general to vehicle wheels and in particular to an improved device for stripping a wheel rim from a wheel rim expanding tooling apparatus.
A conventional vehicle wheel is typically of a two-piece construction and includes an inner wheel disc and an outer “full” wheel rim. The wheel disc can be cast, forged, or fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inner annular wheel mounting portion and an outer annular portion. The wheel mounting portion of the wheel disc defines an inboard mounting surface and includes a center pilot or hub hole, and a plurality of lug receiving holes formed therethrough for mounting the vehicle wheel to an axle of the vehicle. The wheel rim is fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange, an inboard tire bead seat, an axially extending well, an outboard tire bead seat, and an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange. In some instances, a three-piece wheel construction having a mounting cup secured to the wheel disc is used. In both types of constructions, the outer annular portion of the wheel disc is secured to the wheel rim by welding.
A full face vehicle wheel is distinguished from other types of wheels by having a one-piece wheel disc construction. In particular, the full face wheel includes a “full face” wheel disc and a “partial” rim. The full face wheel disc can be cast, forged, or fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys. The full face wheel disc includes an inner annular wheel mounting portion and an outer annular portion which defines at least a portion of an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the wheel. The wheel mounting portion defines an inboard mounting surface and includes a center pilot or hub hole, and a plurality of lug receiving holes formed therethrough for mounting the wheel to an axle of the vehicle. The partial wheel rim is fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange, an inboard tire bead seat, an axially extending well, and an outboard tire bead seat. In some instances, the outboard tire bead seat of the wheel rim and the outer annular portion of the wheel disc cooperate to form the outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the full face wheel. In both types of constructions, the outboard tire bead seat of the wheel rim is positioned adjacent the outer annular portion of the wheel disc and a weld is applied to join the wheel rim and the wheel disc together.
In the above wheel constructions, the wheel rim of the associated vehicle wheel is typically subjected to a final expanding operation to produce a finished wheel rim having a desired final profile prior to securing the wheel rim to the wheel disc by welding. A typical sequence of steps which can be used to produce a partial wheel rim for use in a full face type of vehicle wheel includes the steps of: (a) providing a flat sheet of suitable material, such as aluminum or steel; (b) forming the sheet into a cylindrical hoop or band; (c) flaring the lateral edges of the hoop radially outwardly to produce a rim preform having flanges suitable for positioning on a roll forming machine; (d) subjecting the rim preform to a series of roll forming operations to produce a wheel rim having a predetermined shape; and (e) expanding the wheel rim to a produce a finished wheel rim having a predetermined circumference; and (f) removing the wheel rim from the expanding tooling used in the step (e).
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a prior art wheel rim expanding tooling apparatus, indicated generally at 200, which can be used in the step (e) above, to expand a wheel rim 30 to a produce a finished partial wheel rim 32 having a predetermined profile, and the step (f) above, to remove the wheel rim from the expanding tooling used in the step (e). As shown therein, the prior art wheel rim expanding tooling apparatus 200 includes an inboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly, indicated generally at 202, and an outboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly, indicated generally at 204. The inboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly 202 and the outboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly 204 are supported in a known manner for selective movement between an open, unexpanded position shown in prior art FIG. 1, and a closed, expanded position shown in prior art FIG. 2.
The inboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly 202 includes an inboard expander press assembly 206, a barrel head 208, and an inboard expander press guide support assembly (not shown). The barrel head 208 and the inboard expander press guide support assembly are conventional in the art. The inboard expander press guide support assembly is operative to support the inboard expander press assembly 206 for selective movement between the open, unexpanded position shown in prior art FIG. 1 and the closed, fully expanded position shown in prior art FIG. 2.
The inboard expander press assembly 206 includes a plurality of segmented press members which are adapted to engage an inner surface of the associated vehicle wheel rim 30 and expand the wheel rim 30 to a desired final profile, shown at 32 in FIG. 2, during the above step (e). In the illustrated embodiment, the inboard expander press assembly 206 includes twelve segmented press members (only six of the segmented press members are shown in prior art FIGS. 1 and 2 and identified as 206A–206F). Each of the segments 206A–206F are generally identical to each other.
The outboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly 204 includes an outboard expander press assembly 210, a barrel head 212, and an outboard expander press guide support assembly (not shown). The barrel head 212 and the inboard expander press guide support assembly are conventional in the art. The outboard expander press guide support assembly is operative to support the outboard expander press assembly 210 for selective movement between the open, unexpanded position shown in prior art FIG. 1, and the closed, fully expanded position shown in prior art FIG. 2.
The prior art outboard expander press assembly 210 includes a plurality of segmented press members which are adapted to engage the inner surface of the vehicle wheel rim 30 and expand the wheel rim 30 to a desired final profile, shown at 32 in FIG. 2, during the above step (e). In the illustrated embodiment, the outboard expander press assembly 210 includes twelve segmented press members (only six of the segmented press members are shown in prior art FIGS. 1 and 2 and identified as 210A–210F). Each of the segments 210A–210F are generally identical to each other. Thus, for discussion purposes, the discussion with respect to any one of the segments 210A–210F of the prior art outboard expanding tooling assembly 204 will generally apply to all the other segments.
As shown in prior FIG. 3, the segment 210A includes an outer surface 216 having a desired profile which generally corresponds to the final desired profile of the wheel rim. The segment 210A is provided with an opening 218 formed therethrough. As shown in prior art FIG. 3A, the opening 218 is of a stepped opening configuration and includes a lower or inner threaded portion 218A and an upper or outer non-threaded portion 218B. The inner threaded portion 218A defines a first opening diameter D1 and extends a radial distance X1. The outer non-threaded portion 218B of the opening 218 defines a second opening diameter D2 which is less than the first opening diameter D1.
The segment 214 of the prior art outboard expander press assembly 210 (as well as all the other segments of the outboard expander press assembly 210), further includes a prior art rim removal or stripper pin assembly, indicated generally at 220, in FIG. 4. As shown therein, the prior art stripper pin assembly 220 includes a stripper pin 222, a spring 224, and a set screw or stud 226. The stripper pin 222 includes an outer portion 222A, an intermediate portion 222B, and an inner portion 222C. The outer portion 222A defines a first pin diameter D3, the intermediate portion 222B defines a second pin diameter D4, and the inner portion 222C defines a third pin diameter D5. In the illustrated prior art embodiment, the third pin diameter D5 is greater than the first pin diameter D3 and less than the second pin diameter D4. Also, the second opening diameter D2 is slightly greater than the first pin diameter D3. The prior art pin 222 further includes an outer shoulder S1 and an inner shoulder S2. The outer portion 222A of the stripper pin 222 also defines an outer portion radial dimension X2.
The spring 224 is a coiled compression spring and includes a first or outer coiled end 224A and an opposite second or inner coiled end 224B. The set screw includes a first or outer end 226A, an opposite second or outer end 226B, and an externally threaded main body 226C extending between the ends 226A and 226B. The outer end 226B of the set screw 226 defines a spring seat having a slightly chamfered or beveled surface. The set screw 226 further includes an internal opening 226D. The opening 226D has a hexagonal shape to provide an internal drive socket adapted to enable a suitable shaped tool (not shown) to be used to adjust the position of the set screw 226 in the opening 218. Thus, it can be seen that by adjusting the position of the stud 226 in the opening 218, the force that the spring 224 applies to the shoulder S2 of the stripper pin 222 can be varied. Also, it can be seen that the shoulder S1 of the stripper pin 222 engages a surface 218C of the opening 218 under the bias of the spring 224 when no wheel is present the wheel rim expanding tooling apparatus 210. Thus, the maximum distance that the outer end 222A of the stripper pin 222 can extend radially outwardly from the surface 216 of the segment 214A is a radial distance X3, defined by the equation X2−X1.
In operation, when the prior art wheel rim expanding tooling apparatus 200 is in the closed, fully expanded position shown in prior art FIG. 2, the associated wheel rim is expanded to produce a finished wheel rim having a desired final profile. During this operation, the inner surface of the wheel rim contacts the associated outer surface of each of the segments of the inboard and outboard wheel rim expanding tooling assemblies, 202 and 204 respectively. As a result of this, the outer end 222A of the stripper pin 222 is moved radially inwardly against the force of the spring 224 so that an outermost end surface 222D of the outer end 222A of the stripper pin 222 is located substantially flush with the associated outer surface of each of the segments of the outboard wheel rim expanding tooling assembly 214. After this operation, the wheel rim expanding tooling apparatus 200 is moved to a closed, unexpanded position (not shown). In this position under the bias of the spring 224, the stripper pin 222 moves to its fully extended position and exerts a force sufficient to engage and slightly lift or raise the outboard flange of the final expanded wheel rim from the associated wheel rim expanding tooling assembly. Once this occurs, the wheel rim expanding tooling assemblies 202 and 204 can be moved to the open, unexpanded position shown in prior art FIG. 1.